Murder case extradition is delayed

RODERICK NEWALL, accused of murdering his parents in Jersey five years ago, faces a winter in custody in Gibraltar before a court decides whether to extradite him.

Gibraltar's supreme court yesterday overturned a magistrate's ruling that a tape-recording of an alleged confession by Mr Newall should not be heard during an extradition hearing.

In a judicial review, Chief Justice Alister Kneller ruled magistrate Felix Pizzarello had no discretion to disallow the tape, said to have been made secretly when Mr Newall met relatives in Scotland. The defence immediately gave notice of appeal. Gibraltar's court of appeal is next due to sit on 8 March.

Mr Newall, 27, whose parents Elizabeth and Nicholas disappeared in October 1987, was arrested in August this year by a Royal Navy frigate while sailing his yacht off Casablanca. The bodies of Mr and Mrs Newall have never been found.